Baltimore Police Dept.(BALTIMORE) -- A father and daughter who allegedly fabricated a story of a panhandler stabbing his wife to death when she gave them money were extradited to Baltimore early Thursday to face murder charges.

Keith and Valeria Smith were brought back to Maryland by the Baltimore Police Department's Warrant Apprehension Task Force after being caught in Texas earlier this month while attempting to make a run for the Mexican border, authorities said.

The father and daughter arrived at the Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport shortly after midnight and were immediately driven to the Central Booking Intake Facility in Baltimore, police said.

Baltimore police released video and photos of the pair being taken off the plane on the tarmac, put into handcuffs and driven away.

It was not immediately clear when they will appear in court.

They are both charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 1 stabbing death of Keith Smith's wife, Jacquelyn Smith, 54.

The supects initially claimed Jacquelyn Smith was stabbed by one of two panhandlers she spotted while driving through East Baltimore.

In interviews with homicide detectives and at a news conference shortly after the killing, the pair claimed Jacquelyn Smith was stabbed when she asked her husband to pull over so she could give $10 to a female panhandler who appeared to be holding a baby.

Keith Smith told ABC News shortly after the killing that both panhandlers approached their car and the male panhandler stabbed his wife and snatched her chain as he and the woman were thanking her for the money. He said the woman panhandler reached into the car, grabbed his wife's purse and ran.

But on March 3, Michael Harrison, acting commissioner of the Baltimore Police Department, said the story told by Keith and Valeria Smith "was not true."

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh slammed the suspects for using issues of homelessness as a ruse in an alleged attempt to cover up the killing.

"These individuals took advantage of a situation, a city that is already dealing with its own problems," Pugh said earlier this month. "We're looking forward to this cruel act being brought to justice."

The father and daughter were arrested that day in Harlingen, Texas, which is near the Mexican border. Police said they suspect the pair was attempting to cross the border and disappear.

Since his arrest, Keith Smith's criminal history has come under increased scrutiny. He pleaded guilty in 2001 to robbing the same bank in Timonium, Maryland, three times in nine months, according to reports obtained by ABC News from the Baltimore County Police Department.

New Orleans Fire Department(NEW ORLEANS) -- At least three people were killed in New Orleans on Wednesday night when a vehicle crashed into a beauty salon, engulfing the car and building in flames, authorities said.

The crash occurred a short time after police began pursuing a vehicle that matched the description of one reported stolen. The car in question sped away and managed to evade police.

Officers then saw billowing smoke in the distance, according to a statement from the New Orleans Police Department.

A vehicle had smashed into a beauty salon at the intersection of Washington Avenue and South White Street, sparking the fire.

Officers on scene were able to help a woman and two children escape from the burning structure. The three were transported to a local hospital and were listed in stable condition, police said.

Crews from the New Orleans Fire Department pulled a woman from the second story of the building, but she died on the way to the hospital.

Two individuals believed to have been inside the crashed vehicle also died, police said.

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- A coastal storm is forming near the North Carolina coast and is expected to move up the coast Thursday into Friday.

The nor’easter will bring heavy rain, damaging winds and heavy wet snow to the Northeast.

Ahead of the storm, numerous states from Virginia to Vermont, are under flood and heavy snow alerts.

Heavy rain will spread into Washington, D.C., and the Mid-Atlantic area Thursday morning, and then move into Philadelphia and New York City by the afternoon and evening.

Some of the worst flooding is forecast for Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia later Thursday.

Rain will move into Boston later Thursday evening, but flooding is not expected.

By Friday morning, the storm system will move into northern New England with heavy rain, wind and snow.

Very strong winds are expected on the back side of the storm from Washington, D.C., to New York City. Gusts could exceed 50 mph.

Rainfall totals will be the heaviest in the Mid-Atlantic, where locally 3 inches of rain could fall. This would lead to urban flooding in Washington, D.C., Baltimore and Philadelphia.

Further inland, snow will be wet and heavy in western New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Some areas could see up to a foot of heavy wet snow.

Flooding concerns continue in Plains

Record flooding is ongoing along the Missouri River, where the town of Craig, Missouri, has been submerged due to a levee failure Thursday. The entire town of Craig has been told to evacuate.

Rivers and streams continue to rise downstream on the Missouri River in St. Joseph, Missouri, and Atchison, Kansas. Some of the worst flooding these cities have seen is expected this weekend.

Further north, snow continues to melt in the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and Illinois, where rivers also continue to rise and major flooding is expected next week. Ice jams are also occurring in these areas.

Flood warnings continue all along the central U.S. from the Dakotas to the Gulf Coast.

More rain is expected in the central U.S. as western storms moves east.

Thankfully, the latest computer models show the heaviest rain will move south of the flood zone. Nevertheless, half an inch to 1 inch of rain is possible for the Missouri and Mississippi River valleys this weekend and into early next week.

LPETTET/iStock(NEW YORK) -- The largest Powerball jackpot of the year rose to over half a billion dollars on Wednesday. But if you were hoping to take it home, you'll have to wait another few days.

For the 24th time in a row, no one hit the winning numbers on Wednesday night.

The drawing on Saturday will be worth $625 million, with a cash payout of $380.6 million.

The winning numbers for Wednesday were 10-14-50-53-63 with a Powerball of 21.

The jackpot was worth $562.1 million on Wednesday, or a cash payout of $330 million. That is the eight-largest jackpot in Powerball history.

There was no big winner again on Wednesday, but one person in South Carolina matched all five balls and chose the Power Play option to take home $2 million. There were winners of $1 million in four states: Florida, Kentucky, New Jersey and South Carolina.

The $625 million drawing is the seventh-largest in U.S. lottery history, and the fourth-largest in Powerball history.

v777999/iStock(MARICOPA, Ariz.) -- A YouTube star is accused of physically abusing her seven adoptive children, who told authorities they were pepper-sprayed, beaten and deprived of food and water if they didn't participate in her videos.

Machelle Hobson, 48, whose YouTube channel "Fantastic Adventures" has garnered almost 800,000 subscribers and 250 million views since 2012, was arrested last Friday following a welfare check at her home in Maricopa, Arizona, about 35 miles south of downtown Phoenix, according to the complaint filed in Pinal County Superior Court.

A 19-year-old woman told the Maricopa Police Department on March 13 that her younger adoptive stepsister disclosed being abused by her mother, Hobson.

Officers then conducted a welfare check at Hobson's residence, where they found seven children "who appeared to be malnourished, due to their pale completion, dark rings under their eyes, underweight, and they stated they were thirsty and hungry," according to the probable cause statement.

All seven children were removed from Hobson's custody.

Police interviewed two of the children and attempted to speak with a third but "she was visibly nervous, shaking, and it appeared she was too scared to answer any questions," according to the probable cause statement. The four other children were not questioned.

One child told police Hobson locked her in a closet for days at a time without food or water and made her wear a pull-up diaper, not allowing her to use the bathroom.

The child alleged her adoptive mother would spray her and her six siblings with pepper spray, spank them and force them to take ice baths. She allegedly would further punish them if they resisted, according to the complaint.

The child told police she was once pepper-sprayed between her legs and was in pain for several days.

Another child told police, "I either get beat with a hanger or belt," "or a brush," "or get pepper-sprayed from head to toe," according to the probable cause statement. He also alleged Hobson would grab his "privates" and, on numerous occasions, pinched him with her fingernails until he bled.

Hobson denied the allegations, saying the only forms of punishment she uses are grounding, spanking and making the kids stand in the corner, according to the complaint.

All of the kids mentioned having to partake in their mother's YouTube series, which featured the adopted children in different scenarios, according to the complaint. The kids told police they were punished if they forgot their lines or didn't follow Hobson's directions.

"This is one of the reasons their mom took them out of school, so they can keep filming their series and they mentioned they have not been in school for years," the probable cause statement reads.

The YouTube channel was still up on the video-sharing site as of Wednesday morning but later appeared to be taken down. YouTube will terminate accounts upon discovery of repeated violations of its community guidelines.

"We work closely with leading child safety organizations and others in our industry to protect young people. When we're made aware of serious allegations of this nature we investigate and take action," a YouTube spokesperson told ABC News in a statement Thursday morning. "We immediately suspended monetization when notified of the arrest. In cases where there are Community Guidelines violations, we may take additional actions, including terminating the channel."

The Pinal County Attorney's Office called the allegations "highly disturbing and alarming."

"Children are our community's most precious resource, and this office is committed to holding those individuals who choose to harm them fully accountable for their actions," Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer said in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Hobson and her two adult sons, Logan and Ryan Hackney, were taken into custody by local law enforcement at their residence on March 15, according to the complaint.

Logan Hackney allegedly admitted to police that the children would be locked in the closet for long periods of time as punishment and that he had knowledge of the alleged pepper spray and ice baths. He also told police he observed physical injuries on the kids and heard them scream and cry, according to the complaint.

Logan Hackney claimed he had a discussion with his brother about reporting the child abuse, and the children told police Ryan Hackney would sneak them food when they were locked in the closet.

Hobson and her two sons had their initial court appearance on Saturday. Hobson's bond was set at $200,000 secured and she remains in custody, according to the Pinal County Attorney's Office. She was booked on two counts of child molestation, seven counts of child abuse, five counts of unlawful imprisonment and five counts of child neglect.

Hobson has a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 26. The attorney appointed to Hobson did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Thursday morning.

Hobson's last name was listed as "Hackney" in the initial complaint by the Pinal County Attorney's Office, which later changed it.

Logan and Ryan Hackney, Hobson's biological children, were booked into Pinal County Jail on seven counts each of failing to report child abuse. They were released on their own recognizance on Tuesday and are due back in court April 8.

Logan and Ryan Hackney have hired a private attorney, who did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment Thursday morning.

Zeb and Tawny Schnorr, a couple in Scottsdale, Arizona, run their own YouTube channel starring their 10-year-old and 6-year-old sons called "Extreme Toys TV," which has amassed over 4.1 million subscribers and over 2.1 million views since 2015.

The Schnorrs told ABC News they have never met Hobson but her two adult sons contacted them about a year ago for help with filming and editing content. And just a few weeks ago, Logan and Ryan Hackney brought over Hobson's seven adoptive children to the couple's house to film a collaboration.

The Schnorrs told ABC News they didn't notice anything out of the ordinary with the seven children, who appeared to be well-behaved and playing normally with their two kids. The parents said they were shocked to learn of the allegations.

"I just wish that there was something I would've seen," Tawny Schnorr told ABC News in an interview Wednesday. "I was one-on-one with these kids, and there was no sign they were in danger."

"I had those kids in my house, twice they were here, and I just feel like it was my responsibility as a mom to help them and I feel like I could've saved them," she added, in between tears. "The things those kids had gone through and were going through, my heart breaks for them because nobody deserves that."

Roman Babakin/iStock(BOSTON) -- A Connecticut woman filed a lawsuit against Harvard University on Wednesday, claiming it has "shamelessly" profited from images of two 19th-century slaves and ignored requests to turn the images over to the slaves' descendants.

Tamara Lanier, of Norwich, Connecticut, said the images depict her family's ancestors, two South Carolina slaves identified as Renty and his daughter, Delia, who were forced to pose shirtless and photographed by a Harvard professor to support his theory that Africans and African-Americans were inferior to whites, according to the lawsuit.

"For years, Papa Renty's slave owners profited from his suffering -- it's time for Harvard to stop doing the same thing to our family," Lanier, who says research proves her to be Renty's great-great-granddaughter, said in a statement. "Papa Renty was a proud and kind man who, like so many enslaved men, women and children, endured years of unimaginable horrors."

"Harvard's refusal to honor our family's history by acknowledging our lineage and its own shameful past is an insult to Papa Renty's life and memory," Lanier added.

Lanier is seeking an unspecified sum in damages for "wrongful seizure, possession and expropriation," according to the suit. She is also demanding that the university turn over the photos and acknowledge her lineage.

The images were captured by former Harvard professor Louis Agassiz and used "to justify both the ongoing enslavement of black people prior to the Civil War and their segregation afterward," Lanier's attorneys said in a statement.

"These photographs make it clear that Harvard benefited from slavery then and continues to benefit now," civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump said in a statement. "We cannot erase the wrongs of the past or the legacies of slavery within higher education, but we can forge a new path of respect, dignity and equality moving forward."

The attorneys said Harvard "celebrated" Agassiz as recently as this year and have never sufficiently repudiated his work. They also accused the Ivy League university of running a "decades-long campaign to sanitize the history of the images" and exploiting them "for prestige and profit," according to the lawsuit.

"To Agassiz, Renty and Delia were nothing more than research specimens," the suit, filed in Massachusetts state court, says. "The violence of compelling them to participate in a degrading exercise designed to prove their own subhuman status would not have occurred to him, let alone mattered."

Harvard has buildings named after Agassiz, including the Louis Agassiz Museum of Comparative Zoology.

When asked to comment on the claims, a Harvard spokesperson said the university "has not yet been served, and with that is in no position to comment on this lawsuit filing."

Evgen_Prozhyrko/iStock(KITTITAS, Wash.) -- A Washington state sheriff's deputy was gunned down and another officer was injured Tuesday night in what the sheriff called the "worst incident in my 45-plus years in law enforcement."

Kittitas County Sheriff's Deputy Ryan Thompson, 42, a Washington state native, leaves behind a wife and three children, Sheriff Ryan Dana said at a news conference Wednesday.

Kittitas County, about 90 minutes east of Seattle, is a low-crime rate county. The last fatal officer involved shooting was 92 years ago, Dana said.

The Kittitas Police Department is an agency of three, including the chief. The department relies on state patrol, Ellensburg police and the sheriff's office for help, Kittitas Police Chief Chris Taylor said.

Authorities on Tuesday responded to a "road rage event." When the suspect refused to stop, officers pursued the suspect into the small city of Kittitas, officials said.

The suspect then stopped his car, got out and exchanged gunfire with Thompson and Kittitas police officer Benito Chavez, the sheriff's office said.

Thompson was shot and killed.

Chavez, 22, who was sworn in in July, was also shot and was airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle where he underwent surgery, officials said.

Chavez and his wife are expecting their first child, authorities said.

The suspect, whose name was not released, was shot and has died, said Ellensburg Police Chief Ken Wade.

The shooting led to an outpouring of sympathy from law enforcement departments throughout the state and country.

Thirteen law enforcement officers died in gun-related incidents this year -- down from 18 over the same time period last year, according to the National Law Enforcement Memorial Fund.

travelview/iStock(MIAMI) -- The Miami Beach Police Department is beefing up the number of officers to patrol crowds for the remainder of spring break after several incidents involving alcohol-induced revelers have caused chaos in the city, according to reports.

On Tuesday, Miami Beach officials held an emergency meeting to address the alcohol-induced antics the partiers have brought to the city, the Miami Herald reported. The meeting was filled with resident, who expressed anguish at the disarray, that they said is particularly egregious this year, according to the local newspaper.

Incidents have included a driver on the MacArthur Causeway serving alcohol to passengers in another vehicle, a brawl on the beach and a woman, who was knocked unconscious, near Ocean Drive.

In another incident, Mariah Michelle Logan was killed by a hit-and-run driver on her way to the airport, according to the Miami Herald. Logan, 23 of Chicago, reportedly yelled "Bye, Miami" while hanging out of the car window on the Airport Expressway before she flew out of the car, landed on the road and was struck. The driver stop, then took off, police said.

In addition, numerous videos showing drunk teens and 20-somethings stumbling throughout the city's sidewalks have appeared on social media, according to the Miami New Times.

The police department announced that starting this weekend, it will deploy about 25 officers, who will be wearing riot protective gear, in front of Ocean Drive to seize alcohol and drugs to prevent spring breakers from getting too intoxicated. Barricades and all-terrain vehicles will also be used to disperse crowds. Goodwill ambassadors are also being used to clean up the trash left on the beaches.

The plan will bump the cost of dealing with spring break crowds from $1.1 million to $1.5 million, the Herald reported.

Obtained by ABC News(BOSTON) -- A hate crime investigation is underway after 59 headstones were defaced and two were knocked over at a Jewish cemetery in Massachusetts, according to local police.

Officers responded to the Hebrew Cemetery in Fall River Sunday afternoon after a maintenance worker discovered gravestones damaged with swastikas and anti-Semitic messages, including "expel the Jew" and "Hitler was right," according to police.

It appeared the crime occurred Saturday or early Sunday morning, police said.

A Bristol County Sheriff's deputy walked the grounds of the cemetery Wednesday as relatives of those whose graves were desecrated documented the vandalism.

Robert Trestan, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) in New England, called the crime "an inexcusable act of antisemitic hatred in the place where we honor and remember the lives of our community members."

"We are grateful for the priority that this apparent hate crime is being given by the Fall River Police Department," Trestan said.

The ADL said it's offering a $1,500 reward for information leading to an arrest.

Anyone with information is asked to call Major Crimes Division Sgt. Tom Mauretti and Detective Moses Pereira at 508-324-2796. Anonymous tips can be submitted to 508-672-TIPS.

The United States had seen a decline in expression of anti-Semitism over the past several decades -- until three to four years ago, when it started to rise, according to John Cohen, a former acting undersecretary at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and current ABC News contributor.

Of the 1,749 victims of anti-religious hate crimes in 2017, 58.1 percent were victims of crimes motivated by the perpetrators' anti-Jewish bias, according to statistics from the FBI.

The rise in anti-Semitic expressions, according to Cohen, spans from harassment to vandalism to assault to murder to mass murder -- and "seems to be coinciding with a rise in public expressions of white supremacy."

Social media plays a role, Cohen said, but he added, those who feel this way "feel empowered because they hear public officials using the language of their thought leaders and promoting the agenda of their organizations."

"The themes promoted by white supremacist leaders and the language they use has now been promoted into mainstream political discourse," Cohen said. "[When] racist, mentally unwell, violence-prone individuals hear our elected officials promoting the ideological themes of white supremacy and anti-Semitism, then that serves to empower those people to action."

Cohen said law enforcement is concerned anti-Semitic acts will get worse before they get better.

Going forward, Cohen said, "The first step of dealing with the problem of anti-Semitism and extremist violence in this country is to acknowledge that the problem is actually here."

"We've spent a lot of our political oxygen over the last three years focusing on the threat posed by foreign terrorist groups, the threat posed by immigrants," Cohen said. "The primary threat today is from individuals who become inspired by what they see online and on their own go out and commit an attack."

VallarieE/iStock(WASHINGTON) -- U.S. Customs and Border Protection will start releasing some families apprehended near the border in south Texas as detention centers fill to capacity, an agency official said Tuesday.

CBP will give some of the families apprehended in the Rio Grande Valley area notices to appear in court. Others will be released on their own recognizance, meaning they have a court date but no set bond amount.

The Wall Street Journal was first to report the news.

More children and families have been apprehended along the Rio Grande Valley than in any other area of the border in recent months, according to CBP data.

A CBP official cited the recent increases in border arrests as the reason for the temporary policy change, saying it was done "to mitigate risks to both officer safety and vulnerable populations under these circumstances."

"CBP is committed to effectively utilizing our resources to support border security operations and ongoing humanitarian efforts," the official said in a statement.

Agents expect to stop nearly 100,000 migrants at the southern border this month, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen said in a speech this week.

Nielsen said if the trend continues, the month of March will see more than double the number of unauthorized crossings compared to the same time in recent years.

Her prediction is on track with the growing projections CBP said it expects in coming months and it tracks with large increases of children and families seen in recent months.

"The system is breaking," Nielsen said Monday. "And our communities, our law enforcement personnel, and the migrants themselves are paying the price."

ABC News(NEW YORK) -- A coastal storm is set to bring heavy rain, snow and strong winds to the Northeast on Thursday and Friday.

The storm system will develop along the Carolina coast Wednesday night with heavy rain in the area.

By Thursday morning, the storm system will begin to move up the coast and bring heavy rain to the Mid-Atlantic and Washington, D.C.

The heaviest rain will reach New York City in the afternoon, while it arrives in Boston in the evening.

The storm system moves into New England from Thursday night into Friday morning with heavy rain along the coast and heavy snow in the mountains.

Behind the storm, very strong and even damaging winds are possible on Friday for most of the Northeast.

More than 1 inch of rain is expected for the Northeast, with inland mountains getting more than a half a foot of snow.

River flooding continues

While waters are receding in Nebraska and people are beginning a long clean up process, rivers are only beginning to rise in parts of the midwest.

As snow melts rapidly this weekend in the upper Mississippi and Missouri rivers, major flooding will move into Minnesota, the Dakotas and Wisconsin.

The Missouri River in St. Joseph, Missouri, is forecast to reach major flood stage close to its 2011 flood level. In Atchison, Missouri, it will reach close to the 1993 flood level.

The Minnesota River is rising southwest and west of the Twin Cities, and is forecast to crest sometime next week. The Mississippi River is rising in St. Paul, Minnesota, where it is forecast to reach near major flood stage by next week.

Flood warnings continue Wednesday from Minnesota down to the Gulf Coast as snow continues to melt in the Upper Midwest.

Unfortunately, more rain is forecast for parts of the Midwest and the Plains as we head into the weekend and early next week.

Tuesday’s rain brought up to half an inch of rain to the area, which did not help already flooded neighborhoods.

A new storm system will move through the area late in the weekend and into early next week with more substantial rainfall. Some areas could see 1 to as much as 3 inches of rain.

Provided(PHILADELPHIA) -- Authorities seized at least 450 kilograms of cocaine at the Port of Philadelphia on Tuesday morning, according to a source familiar with the massive drug bust.

Bricks of the white powdery substance were stuffed in duffel bags found in a shipping container aboard the MSC Desiree, which was traveling from Colombia to Europe, the source told ABC News.

Federal and local authorities inspected the container after noticing the bolts on the door had been tampered with, the source said.

The total amount of cocaine, approximately 992 pounds, has a street value of about $18 million, and is the most ever seized in Philadelphia, according to the source.

Last week, authorities confiscated 3,200 pounds of cocaine, with a street value of $77 million, that had been hidden behind boxes of dried fruit aboard a cargo ship at the Port of New York and New Jersey. It was the largest coke bust at the port in a quarter century.

Federal agents have been paying closer attention to tampered shipping containers as cocaine makes a comeback amid rising crop production in Colombia, which is no longer eradicating coca plants, the source told ABC News.

Evansville Fire Department(EVANSVILLE, Ind.) -- Police in Indiana have released a 911 call made by a woman who found her veteran firefighter husband gunned down outside their home -- two weeks after she was charged with obstructing the investigation.

In the 911 call released by the Evansville-Vanderburgh Dispatch on Monday, victim Rob Doerr's wife, Elizabeth Fox-Doerr, can be heard recounting to a dispatcher how she had just discovered him lying in their driveway, after hearing gunshots.

"My husband just got shot," she says to the 911 dispatcher.

Fox-Doerr tells the 911 dispatcher that she saw the headlights from Doerr's car as he pulled into the driveway and "then I heard a bunch of popping."

"I went to the front door and I didn't see anything," she says. "I went to the side door and came out and saw my husband just laying there. Please hurry."

She then tells the dispatcher she did not see anyone outside besides her husband.

"I did not see a car. I did not see a person. The only person I saw was my husband laying on the ground," Fox-Doerr says on the call.

Doerr had almost 28 years of service with the Evansville Fire Department, police said.

In an unusual twist for a murder investigation, however, on March 5 -- after Doerr had been laid to rest -- Evansville police announced that Fox-Doerr had been arrested and charged with obstruction of justice. A charge of misdemeanor false informing was later added.

"The charges she's facing [are] for deleting a phone call on her phone and then not being honest with investigators when questioned about it," Evansville Police Sgt. Jason Cullum said at the news conference March 6. "She is not listed as a suspect in the homicide. She is not listed as a suspect in any other activity."

Police told ABC News Tuesday that she had received a cellphone call before her husband's slaying -- and hearing the gun pops and calling 911 -- and subsequently deleted the call. Police said they did not know when the call was deleted or who placed the call.

Doerr made her first court appearance March 6. She was released from jail about a week ago on $3,000 cash bond, police said.

The state of Indiana entered a plea of not guilty for her.

Investigators were following up on provided information regarding leads but did not have a motive, police said.

Police said they have not publicly identified a person of interest or a suspect. Cullum said police were still in the "information-gathering process."

diego_cervo/iStock(NEW YORK) -- The Catholic diocese allowed priests to serve in the West Virginia community and work in their schools in spite of known histories of sexual abuse, according to newly filed court documents.

The Attorney General of West Virginia announced on Tuesday that his office filed a civil complaint against the diocese and the bishop over the lack of transparency and their decisions to allow predators in their schools.

The complaint says that the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston "engaged in unfair or deceptive acts or practices by failing to disclose to consumers of its educational and recreational services that it employed priests and laity who have sexually abused children, including an admitted abuser who the Diocese nevertheless allowed to work in a Catholic elementary school."

The Diocese did not immediately respond to ABC News' request for comment.

This legal action comes during a time of turmoil for the Catholic Church, both in the U.S. and abroad.

Investigations into clerical sexual abuse are underway in Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Virginia and the District of Columbia, as well as with the Archdiocese of Anchorage in Alaska. Spokespersons for several other state attorneys general offices told ABC News that their offices were reviewing options and considering taking similar actions.

Leaders from more than 100 countries and regions met in the Vatican last month to discuss the abuse epidemic.

The complaint filed Tuesday by West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is asking for the diocese to permanently ban the practice of hiring and not disclosing the sexual abuse allegations of employees — which is in violation of the state's business practices — and demands restitution, among other penalties.

The complaint names two priests and one lay person, and references another priest, who is does not named; all of whom were allegedly employed by the diocese in spite of accusations of sexual abuse or misconduct against them.

The complaint highlights the case of Victor Frobas, a priest who was credibly accused of sexually abusing a child when he was staffed in Philadelphia in 1962.

He then moved to the West Virginia diocese in 1965, the year after the complaint about the abuse was made to the Philadelphia diocese.

The complaint charges that Frobas "was moved frequently due to suspicions of and sometimes allegations of sexual abuse of children" with the Diocese's direction.

While employed by the diocese, Frobas faced multiple subsequent allegations of abuse, took leaves of absence and received treatment at facilities known for dealing with pedophilia, according to the complaint. He left the West Virginia diocese in 1983, but moved on to work in St. Louis and later pleaded guilty to charges of inappropriate contact, leading to a five year prison term before he died in 1993, the complaint read.

The complaint identifies another priest, Father Patrick Condron, who allegedly "groomed" a student for years.

According to allegations made by the student years later, in 1995, Condron groomed him "beginning with long embraces, passing through kissing and culminating in an attempt at genital sexual intercourse," the complaint charges.

Condron admitted the allegations, received treatment, was allowed back into active ministry and later allowed to work at Wheeling Catholic Elementary School, according to the court documents.

The complaint also cites an unnamed priest from another diocese, who on his application form in 2002, wrote that he had been accused of sexually abusing a child in 1979. He was still hired, according to the complaint.

"The Diocese had the opportunity to thoroughly vet this priest after being put on notice to do so, yet, it failed to adequately investigate this priest's background before hiring him," the complaint read.

The Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP), the country's oldest and largest support group for survivors of clergy abuse, released a statement praising Morrisey for "bringing these egregious oversights into the light."

"We hope that this move by A.G. Morrisey will prod other law enforcement officials to think outside the box, but will also encourage survivors, witnesses, and whistle blowers in West Virginia to come forward and report to police," SNAP said in a statement Tuesday.

Fedorovekb/iStock(COVINGTON, Wash.) -- Surveillance video captured a collision between a school bus and an SUV in Washington state.

Two of the SUV passengers were critically injured and seven students from the bus had minor injuries in the Monday collision in Covington, Washington, according to the King’s County Sheriff’s Office.

In the surveillance video, a maroon SUV can be seen driving on the opposite side of the road. The SUV then cuts to the left in front of another vehicle which had stopped and crosses the center of the road before colliding head-on with bus.

The collision was severe enough that the bus was briefly lifted into the air before landing on the side of the road.

Sgt. Ryan Abbott, the public information officer for the King’s County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News that the SUV drove through a red light. Abbott said 28 students from Kentlake High School in Kent, Washington, were on the bus.

Kentlake High School principal Heidi Maurer said in a letter to parents and guardians that “the safety of our staff and students is our first responsibility. This is a rare situation because of the extensive training received by our drivers and the Transportation staff is to be commended for their quick and professional actions.”

Abbott said six men were in the maroon SUV, which was a rental car. The driver and passenger in the front seat were taken to the hospital in critical condition, he added.

Three of the passengers attempted to flee in opposite directions after the collision before being captured, Abbott said, and two were hospitalized with minor injuries and a third was taken to jail after officials discovered he was a convicted felon in possession of a handgun.

Abbott said officials are still trying to determine where the SUV was going and why the driver was driving so erratically.